Monica

Monica Denise Arnold was born on October 24, 1980 in Atlanta. As a child, Monica sang in church like her mother.

Despite her young age, Monica came to prominence at fourteen in the year 1995 when producer Dallas Austin, BET and MTV supported her debut sing, 'Don't Take It Personal.' The single reached #2 on the charts and caused comparisons to arise between Monica and similar teen star Brandy.

With the support of a popular single, Monica's debut album Miss Thang went triple platinum. It also featured strong singles in 'Before You Walk Out Of My Life' and 'Why I Love You So Much.'

Unwilling to be stopped, Monica's success continued in 1997 when her song 'For You I Will' from the Space Jam soundtrack made it into the top 10 on pop charts. In 1998, she teamed up with her seeming rival Brandy and put out 'The Boy Is mine,' lead single to her album of the same title. The single had huge success, staying at the top of the Hot 100 for 13 weeks and earning multi-platinum status, one of the top ten most successful singles in history based on chart success. The albums next two singles 'The First Night' and 'Angel Of Mine' did very well, both becoming number one pop hits.

Monica had personal difficulties after her second albums release, when her boyfriend committed suicide. While she released a few soundtrack singles, he did not have much of a presence from 2000 to 2003. She had a planned album All Eyez on Me for 2002 but its single faired poorly and the album was only released in Japan.

Yet in 2003, Monica returned with her third album After The Storm which was well reviewed. The album debuted at number one but fell quickly. The album went platinum and its first single 'So Gone' peaked at #10, Monica?s first single since 1999 to do so.

Monica is expected to release another album, A Dozen Roses, sometime this summer. She has one son, Rodney Ramone Hill III, named after her fianc? Rodney Hill Jr.